1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a dispenser and package for liquid or granular materials, particularly for liquid or granular health and beauty care products.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices for the dispensing of a viscous liquid or granular material are known in the art. With respect to viscous liquid dispensers, these devices may, for example, use a roller moving over a resilient tube that is connected to a viscous liquid reservoir to expel viscous liquid from the tube. As the roller advances, the resilient tube is progressively compressed between the roller and a suitably disposed backup block. Examples of such prior devices are U.S. Pat. No. 2,113,002, issued to Hefti, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,006,832, issued to Rosetti.
Alternatively, other prior art dispensing devices for viscous liquids may utilize contact members which are first moved to constrict a portion of a resilient tube. Then, the contact member is forced into compressive contact with the resilient tube to cause viscous liquid to be expelled therefrom. Examples of the later type viscous liquid dispensers are U.S. Pat. No. 3,741,439 issued to Vehrs, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,870,201, issued to Asplund. It is usually a problem of prior art devices of any type to have an unsightly and unsanitary coagulated mass of viscous liquid remaining at the orifice of the resilient tube left from previous dispensing operations of viscous liquid from the dispenser. Furthermore, these liquid dispensers do not appear to be readily adapted to dispense granular materials.
Another prior art dispensing device which solved the problem of viscous liquid remaining at the orifice of the resilient tube is that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,224, to Norman and Frassanito. This dispenser utilized a yieldable dispensing lever arm to first constrict a portion of a resilient tube and included a spring bias, long throw, check valve disposed within the resilient tube for drawing liquid back into the resilient tube upon returning the dispensing arm to its original position. This device also included an arrangement for varying the amount of viscous liquid expelled in a given dispensing operation.
With respect to prior art devices for dispensing granular materials, many such devices utilize a flexible, slit diaphragm nozzle. The nozzle is opened upon application of a force to open the slit whereby the granular material is dispensed. Examples of such prior art devices are: U.S. Pat. No. 2,565,917, to Hammerstein; U.S. Pat. No. 2,473,707, to Hammerstein; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,224,650 to Willits. Such dispensers, while appearing to be capable of dispensing granular material, are not readily adapted to dispensing liquid materials.
Since many organizations may desire to have both liquid and granular materials, particular health and beauty care products such as soap, dispensed throughout their establishments, it would be desirable to install only one type of dispenser which could dispense either liquid or granular materials, depending upon what type of refill package is inserted in the dispenser. Therefore, a problem exists with prior art dispensers which are not capable of dispensing both liquid and granular materials. Furthermore, many of the prior art dispensers lack features which provide for adjusting the amount of material to be dispensed and preventing dripping from the dispenser when it is not in use.
Accordingly, prior to the development of the present invention, there has been no dispenser for use with both liquid and granular materials which is simple and economical to manufacture and operate, and can be loaded with a package containing either liquid or granular materials. Therefore, the art has sought a dispenser which: can be used with a package which contains either liquid or granular materials; is economical to manufacture; is easy to use; does not have an unsightly and unsanitary mass of liquid remaining at the nozzle of the dispenser; and can be adjusted to vary the amount of material being dispensed.